Mitsubishi acquires stake in Valencia container terminal

Two Japanese companies -- Mitsubishi Corporation and Kamigumi Co. -- have jointly acquired a 25-percent share in TCV Stevedoring Company S.A., which operates the container terminal in Valencia, Spain. They acquired the stake from Spanish global container terminal operator, Grup Maritim TCB, which maintains a 75-percent share.
In a press release, Mitsubishi noted that the volume of containers handled by the Port of Valencia -- 4.5 million TEUs in 2012 -- is similar to the scale of operations handled by the Port of Tokyo.
Mitsubishi said the deal is its "first full-scale entry into the promising container terminal business.
The project also responds to the Japanese government’s strategy to
promote the export of infrastructure-related industries and systems."
Mitsubishi has a 60-percent stake and Kamigumi a 40-percent state in the special purpose company that has acquired the quarter interest in TCV.
The partnership with TCB, Mitsubishi said, will enable it "to further develop its infrastructure business globally,
including the operation of container terminals, particularly in emerging
countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America."
In addition to serving as the main port for Spain’s hinterland, including Madrid, Valencia also functions as a transshipment hub for neighboring countries in the Mediterranean and northwestern Europe.The World Shipping Council lists Valencia as the 31st largest container port, and the largest in the Mediterranean.
Mitsubishi said that more than a half of Valencia’s average annual growth in container volumes -- 13 percent over the past two decades -- can be accredited to cargo traffic between Valencia and ports in Asia, and that the port is expected to see continued growth in the coming years.